Several publications and patent documents are cited throughout this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The disclosure of each of these citations is incorporated by reference herein.
The National Cancer Institute has estimated that in the United States one out of three people will be afflicted with cancer during their lifetime. Furthermore, over 50% of those contracting cancer will eventually succumb to the disease. The widespread occurrence of the disease underscores the need for improved anticancer regimens for the treatment of neoplasia and malignancy.
Due to the wide variety of cancers presently observed, numerous anticancer agents and treatment modalities have been developed to inhibit cancer growth within the body. These agents are administered to patients with the objective of destroying or otherwise preventing the growth of neoplastic cells.
One such chemical compound is 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) which is a pyrimidine analog in the family of antimetabolite drugs which is incorporated into DNA and inhibits thymidylate synthase (TS). Another potential approach involves harnessing the cytotoxic effects of nucleoside/base analogs, such as the oxidized DNA base, 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxyuridine (“HmdU” or “HmdUrd”).
In order to treat the large number of cancer patients, other avenues, such as new combinations of known agents need to be developed. However, these efforts are hampered by the lack of knowledge of which combinations are effective and which combinations may provide synergistic results.